Michael Hanley, CEO of Lakeland Dairies attended a business forum on dairy co-operatives held in Brussels on 29^th June. The Forum was chaired by Thomas Magnusson, the President of Cogeca. ICOS President, Martin Keane and ICOS CEO, TJ Flanagan also attended.

Mr. Magnusson spoke of the importance of governance within a co-operative, stating that even the largest international and transnational dairy co-operatives, have well developed governance structures, which ensure that farmer members are heard and that they maintain control on decisions affecting their transactions.

The Business Forum included a keynote speech from Cees Veerman, former Dutch Minister of Agriculture and Chair of the Task Force on Agricultural Markets, appointed recently by Commissioner Hogan. Mr. Veerman noted the important role of co-operatives, not only in defending farmers’ economic interests in the food supply chain, but also from a public policy point of view, as they have a positive impact in stabilising markets.

Mr. Hanley participated in a round table discussion on the global business challenges facing EU dairy co-operatives following the abolition of quotas. This session was moderated by Kevin Bellamy from Rabobank with other participants including Mr. Frédéric Rostand, CEO, Sodiaal Union (France), Ms. Daniela Brandao, CFO, Lacticoop (Portugal) and Ms. Elli Siltala, Executive Vice President of Valio (Finland).

Mr. Hanley strongly defended the position of Ireland as a milk producing nation and dairy exporter. He noted that while in percentage terms, Irish dairy growth may seem dramatic, the volume relative to overall EU production is quite modest. He emphasised that the Irish dairy industry was strongly focused on third country markets, which was highlighted by recent statistics demonstrating Ireland’s lower dependence on intervention, especially when compared to some nations with strong domestic markets.

Eamonn Farrell

Agri-Food Policy Executive